The Space Needle‘s $50,000 fundraising challenge will benefit four different organizations that support the LGBT community: the Greater Seattle Business Association (the GSBA) LGBT and allied scholarship fund; the It Gets Better Project, which supports the Trevor Project; Lambda Legal; and Mary’s Place, a trans inclusive women’s shelter in Seattle.

On June 3, the Space Needle told Seattle’s LGBT community they would not fly the Pride flag again as the organization did last year for the first time. Lifetime Seattle resident Josh Castle wanted to urge the Space Needle to change their mind, so he started a petition on Change.org asking the Space Needle to, “Please raise the Pride flag during Seattle Pride weekend.”

More than 9,000 people have signed Josh Castle’s petition. Four Seattle City Council members added their voices of support including City Council President Richard Conlin, and Council members Jean Godden, Mike O’Brien, and Tom Rasmussen.

“I could not be more excited about the Space Needle’s decision,” said Josh Castle. “The Space Needle chose four charities that I am proud to support. Now let’s all pitch in so we can raise the flag!”

The Space Needle has donated $5,000 towards the fundraising goal and is asking the community to raise an additional $45,000. Those interested in supporting the fundraising campaign can contribute through a fundraising tool on Facebook at the following link:

Castle plans to immediately get to work to help the Space Needle raise the remaining $45,000. “I’m going to need your help once more to raise the Pride flag on the Space Needle,” Castle said. “Please visit http://goo.gl/PXf9a to contribute what you can. If we all chip in, we will raise the money in time for Pride weekend.”

Josh Castle’s Change.org petition inspired local businesses to show their pride. Healeo, a vegan cafe in Seattle, purchased more than 100 Pride flags and plans to give them to Seattle businesses to fly.

“The It Gets Better Project is about letting LGBT youth know that hey have a bright future and that they should never be ashamed of who they are. Involving the entire community in an effort to raise the Pride Flag on Gay Pride Weekend– and doing it in a way that supports services for gay youth and others in our community — makes a powerful statement about our commitment to improving their futures,” said Dan Savage.

The Space Needle should be applauded for their generosity and leadership in raising the flag again this year in response to Josh Castle’s Change.org petition and an outpouring of community supports. In addition, the Space Needle’s decision to use the Pride flag to help raise money for several LGBT community organizations is a wonderful demonstration of their commitment to improving lives — and saving lives.

Disclosure: I am an Organizing Manager at Change.org and I serve on the Board of Directors for GSBA. The charities were selected entirely by the Space Needle. The Space Needle is a member of GSBA. The opinions in this post are entirely my own.